Logan City School District enacts policy on religious and political symbols in classrooms
On Dec. 13, the Logan City School District board voted in a 3-2 motion to enact a policy that would support Utah code 53G-10-202 so any classroom materials “do not display materials that endorse, promote, or disparage a particular political, personal, religious, denominational, sectarian, agnostic, or atheist belief or viewpoint.”
The policy was revised under the Standards of Media Act, which says any material “displayed in or around a classroom is generally considered instructional materials and must comply with this policy.”
“This policy does not require a principal to remove photos, decorations, or other personal items from a teacher’s desk or surrounding areas as long as the items do not disrupt the learning process,” the revised policy states.
The policy will be effective on March 3, 2023, the last day of Utah’s legislative session.
The decision about the policy arose after a three-month debate on pride flag displays in classrooms.
The first meeting debating pride flags in classrooms was on Sept. 13, when Andrea Sinfield, a Logan City School District parent, expressed her concerns about a pride flag with the words “safe space” on the front door of a few kindergarten classrooms in her daughter’s elementary school, Hillcrest Elementary.
“Seeing the flag in such a prominent place in my five-year-old’s learning area has caused me alarm because neither I nor my child are ready to explain the complex ideas behind this symbol,” Sinfield said.
Since then, the subject has been up for debate. According to the board’s forum minutes, several meetings included public comments, where students, parents and teachers discussed their thoughts on the possible ban.
Shana Longhurst, the district’s director of communications and public relations, said in an email to the Statesman that “all displays in district classrooms will be evaluated using (the criteria in the policy), and all images that align with the guidance in the two policies passed will be allowed to remain on display in district classrooms. Over the course of the next few months, principals and teachers will receive training on these policies and their implementation.”
During the meeting, the board also passed a policy on “Student Inclusion and Respect” with a 5-0 vote, which outlines the district’s stance on equality. It emphasizes their mission to ensure “all students leave our schools ready to create a positive future for themselves and their community.”
The Student Inclusion and Respect policy states, as a public institution, “Schools, including classrooms, are not public forums for the display or distribution of political, religious, or personal viewpoints, and employees may not use them for the posting or display of such materials.”
Longhurst said it is “important for our patrons to understand that the board really took into consideration all aspects of this conversation.”
“They spent three months accepting emails, listening to public comment and trying to determine the best way to meet the needs of our whole community,” Longhurst said.
On Dec. 15, Sinfield commented on the board’s decision in a phone call with the Statesman.
“I will respect their choice, because I do think that they are, you know — they’ve put a lot of time and effort thinking about this. And so I definitely respect their choice,” Sinfield said.
According to the meeting’s Facebook live streams, a large part of the school board’s discussion on Nov. 29 and Dec. 13 was debating between making a policy decision as a board, and trusting the individual teachers and principals to decide what was right for their schools.
Larry Williams, the president of the school board, said his previous experience as a teacher taught him that some students need recognition, attention and care, whether through symbols or otherwise.
“As an educator, you know, we talked about trust. Trust me to know, to identify those students and what their specific needs are. And that’s kind of where I’m going from — it’s student-centered, but not every student and their needs are the same,” Williams said.
Kristie Cooley, a member of the board, said she received several texts from parents asking her to make a district-wide policy that would provide more direction on the matter.
The policy has a lot of nuances, according to Frank Schofield, the district’s superintendent. He said if students were to ask a teacher why there was a symbol in the classroom, the teacher’s purpose for displaying the symbol would impact whether the principal could remove it.
“If something is on display, as long as it does not endorse, promote or disparage a particular political, personal, religious, denominational, sectarian, agnostic or atheist belief or viewpoint, it’s allowable in the classroom,” Schofield said.
Cooley said it would be better to keep the classrooms a neutral space, and when she was bullied at Logan High School, she didn’t need a symbol in a classroom to feel safe with her teachers.
“My experience of Logan High was built on relationships. It wasn’t built on something hanging on a wall,” Cooley said. “We want all of our students to feel safe and welcome, and I don’t see how we can move forward protecting one group by harming another.”
Ann Geary, another board member, and Williams voted on a motion to extend the time period for discussion on the policy. They lost the motion 3-2.
Logan High School student Elise Carter said she felt like the board did not understand the situation of being a queer student and that knowing which teachers are safe directly impacts who she feels she can talk to.
“I think the frustrating thing is that this policy affects students, and they’re not listening to students,” Carter said.
Jay Bates Domenech, a Logan High School student and president of the school’s Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) club, discussed their frustration with the policy.
“I’ll say what I said before, which is that it is absolutely disgusting. Like — that’s the only word I can think to describe it, and the fact that they’re not seeing this as blatant homophobia deeply concerns me,” Domenech said.
Williams said he was “exhausted” and “disappointed” after the decision.
“Moving forward, we will do the best we can to make sure that those students that feel marginalized or feel that they need additional support — we’ll find ways to provide that signal for them, because they’re not going away,” Williams said.
Longhurst said the board members, despite having a split vote, are “very respectful of each other and their viewpoints.”
“I think that because they work so well together, they will come together to move forward with this policy to best promote respect, inclusion — support state code, as evident in the policy,” Longhurst said.
-Jenny.Carpenter@usu.edu